It's nice to take a break from the increasingly convoluted plot of the main storyline with a straightforward tale of revenge set in a historic corner of the world that often doesn't get a lot of attention in Western video games.

Putting aside the weird, tone-deaf childishness of the plot setup, Grit and Valor – 1949 is occasionally an exciting little strategy game. Some of its map designs and optional objectives force you to make the most of scant resources, and for all the challenge, it's refreshingly quick and easy to make up losses when you fail. It's just frustratingly shallow in its take on roguelike structures for longer than it should be.

There’s a fun and challenging experience down in the depths of Below, especially in the very lowest levels. Unfortunately, the cumbersome design will turn players away and keep the game’s treasures hidden forever.

The somewhat ridiculous bugs and some slight repetition leave Sniper Elite III just short of joining the elite action pack alongside other games. In itself, it's still a pretty good experience for those who like to leave their mark from a distance.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is not just another punching, kicking, and grapple combo adventure with Billy and Jimmy Lee. They brought back a ton of nostalgic features and worked it into a new rogue-lite approach to the franchise.

Marvel’s Avengers impresses with a well-written, dramatic campaign. From a gameplay standpoint, the combat is as fun and satisfying as one could hope for in a title based on the superhero team. Though the online live service aspect is bogged down by overly complicated menus, systems, and matchmaking woes, there’s still a fun experience underneath. Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix deliver a perfectly adequate adaptation of an iconic property with Marvel’s Avengers.

Heroes 7 has a number of problems that completely ruin the experience.

Pirates isn't a terrible game, but its pedigree means it needed to aim higher. Black Flag's ship combat was extremely refined, but Pirates comes off as a shallow imitator, and will undoubtedly leave players wanting.

it's another example of a game with a great idea that flew too close to the sun.

Back on PSP, I loved playing the Class of Heroes games. They scratched a similar itch as series like Etrian Odyssey and Wizardry at the time. Nowadays there are many more cool and interesting DRPGs, such as NIS’ Labyrinth series and everything Experience, Inc. has done since then. But due to their cutesy charm, silly attitude and surprisingly treacherous dungeons, Class of Heroes stands out to this day. If you like to set up your own party of weirdos based on your own granular choices, then bash them against endless waves of monsters and traps for the sake of loot and progress, you can’t go wrong with Class of Heroes 1 & 2 Complete Edition.

While I feel the live service elements are out of place, I ultimately can't hate the final product. Crash Team Rumble is a blast, one that's easy to learn and hard to put down.

Is it another Enter the Gungeon? No, it isn't. But as a quick arcade romp, it's a blast. It shows that even when shifting genres, Dodge Roll knows how to craft a good roguelike and keep players wanting to punish themselves more and more with each run.

Bus Simulator 18 is not a game changer and to be honest, it’s not the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had in front of my PC. Still, it has solid driving mechanics, some detailed buses, and a gameplay loop that is strangely relaxing.

Atomicrops is an unlikely meeting of two genres. Set to the backdrop of a post-nuclear apocalypse, Bird Bath Games finds a way to adequately weave together two styles of gameplay that typically shouldn’t work together. Although there are moments where the two primary modes of play feel like they’re stepping on each others’ toes, those moments are few and far between. Bird Bath’s Atomicrops is an excellent addition to PC and home console indie catalogues.

While I dug absolutely every facet of the game's aesthetics and the fact that I was finally able to get more No More Heroes after such a long wait, I didn't quite want it in this format. While it was clear at the start that this wouldn't be a core entry in the series, it's also bereft of much of what makes No More Heroes such an unforgettable and classic game in the first place. Technical issues, strange gameplay decisions, and an overall lackluster series of features make Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes an unworthy placeholder for the next entry in the series.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is an amalgam of both positive and negative design choices, but overall it’s an excellent combination of interesting fights, varied characters, and entertaining fan service. It’s a worthy successor to the last home Dissidia release, and while it’s not perfect, it’s certainly a slick and stylish way to spend a few hours unlocking new costumes and moves.

XDefiant feels like a niche, that knows it’s a niche, and tries to sprinkle some broad appeal on top. Just enough to draw in more than the hardcores, without risking alienating them too much. At the same time, it’s a line in the sand moment for all the FPS hardcores who are sick and tired of SBMM. On top of all that, crossing over Tom Clancy series has the appeal of mixing a bowl of potato chips from different brands that are all the same flavor. And Watch Dogs? Anyway, there’s a solid foundation here with rock-solid arena shooter mechanics. If the matchmaking experiment works out and some key adjustments are made, I can see this game sticking around for a good while.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is an excellent adventure game and platformer, with cool mechanics that keep gameplay fresh. The environments are stunning, and the 2.9D animation makes the world feel three-dimensional and lived-in. Only held back by a slew of bugs, Oddworld: Soulstorm is a great installment in a classic franchise.

It's not the best Kirby game out there, but it's certainly better than I expected it to be. It doesn't have the same staying power that a game like Mario Party or WarioWare does, but if nothing else, it's a tasty appetizer.

Tron: Identity weaves an interesting detective story that expands the franchise mythos. While those invested in the lore will enjoy diving deeper into this universe, newcomers would have benefitted from a bit more exposition. Despite that, Tron: Identity’s branching story, puzzles, and visuals make it quite an enjoyable visual novel.

Frozenheim is quite a test of strategic resource management and combat tactics as you raise your settlement, make it self-sufficient, and defend it from outside forces. I really enjoyed the ability to diversify through clan types and the maps are just plain beautiful at all ends. Some resources are far more unwieldy than others, and players will likely find frustration learning how to keep the things they constantly need in check. However, for everything on offer, Frozenheim is a solid arrangement of primitive economics and warfare and should scratch an itch for anyone looking to enjoy a solid strategy experience, either solo or with friendly opponents.

For WWE fans, there is a lot to like with the package, but ultimately, bad design cripples what could be a real winner. While I was not the biggest fan of them, the removal of the showcase events is a huge loss for longtime wrestling fans.

This review has certainly gone off the rails but, in my defense, it’s my eighth one and I’m shocked every year that I find a new way to say the same thing. Yes, everything that EA Vancouver added is cool or nice or awesome but, no, it’s not enough. I know it’s not the developer’s fault, and I genuinely feel bad for them. They seem like hockey nuts, like the rest of us, but it’s not my job to pat anyone on the back for delivering patch-sized video games at full price just because their boss sucks. It’s actually my job to call that out, but hopefully one of these years I get to gush over a fully updated, feature rich game that doesn’t pick one mode to care about each season.

I ultimately concluded that it's not meant to be that deep. It's just a boring game.

While A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead makes for a decent adaptation of the breakout horror franchise, it ends up falling short due to a slow, uninspired narrative and frustrating sneaking sections. That said, it's still an engaging, tense romp through the world of A Quiet Place and fans of the movie will get their fill here.

Biomutant is a solid debut from Experiment 101. Though a couple of the game’s concepts don’t feel entirely fleshed out, there’s still a lot to appreciate. The amount of variety in both the narrative and in combat ensures that no two players have an identical experience. With a fluid combat system and enough style to spare, Biomutant is still a formidable RPG.

The Crew 2 fails at providing the heart of what what a racing game should offer, specifically a fun and rewarding driving experience. All the icing and fancy decoration in the world won’t make a crappy cake into a great cake. The Crew 2 can take a pack of exotic cars racing on a mountain road and produce results that are about as exciting as a round of solitaire.

Ultra Street Fighter II tries to add a robust package around its tried-and-true Arcade mode, but much of that package doesn't pan out. All that leaves is the Arcade and Versus modes and for as great as Street Fighter II is, it's a game that also shows its age after a while. Fighting games have come so much farther since SF2 pioneered the genre, so it's hard to imagine going back and especially for a hefty $40 price tag. Thanks for memories, Street Fighter II, but I'm hoping that this is indeed the Final Challenge.